The "intelligent mobile hotspot", known as MiFi - a Wi-Fi hot spot in essence - was announced by Novatel Wireless Inc on Tuesday. The new pocket-size modem device combines a 3G modem, router, and embedded Linux-based PC, designed to let mobile users connect a variety of devices to wireless wide-area networks.

The device, which is about the size of a deck of cards, has a processor and Linux-based OS built in, which can run various applications, including security programs, VPNs, and drivers for home appliances. The MiFi requires an 802.11 b/g connection to the user's laptop or other device, from where it reaches the Internet through HSPA
(High Speed Packet Access) or EVDO networks.

According to a statement from Novatel, the MiFi can be used to make a high-speed connection to the Internet from anywhere there is a cellular connection, including inside a moving vehicle where multiple passengers require Internet access. The device will have 40 hours of standby battery life and about four hours of continuous connection time on a charge.

Without giving the exact specifications, Rod Hadley, senior technical adviser for San Diego-based Novatel, said in an interview that the modem of MiFi is about the width and length of a credit card, but thicker. The device will be available through wireless carriers in the first half of 2009, at a price of under $200, or even lower, depending on carrier subsidies.

Releasing a photo of the product, the company said there will eventually be an entire family of products known as MiFi Intelligent Mobile Hotspots. Michael Gartenberg, an analyst at Jupitermedia, calling the MiFi unique in the marketplace, said it can "potentially be a game-changing product in terms of how users get connected away from home."